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His crew chief, Giulio Nava, said: "Sam is suffering from the after-effects of his crash in Valencia, but he put himself to the test anyway at Jerez to continue growing. We have a long season ahead of us, so for the moment it is important to rack up the miles in the saddle and get to know the mechanisms of the team.

"Despite his physical difficulties, I think these tests added another notch in the belt for Sam's apprenticeship. I'm sure that in Malaysia his potential will begin to show. We can't consider the times from these tests as any real indication.

Espargaro clocked up a total of 80 laps as he adjusts to the Aprilia following his switch from the factory Suzuki.

"We are heading into the winter break with good sensations, said Espargaro's crew chief, Marcus Eschenbacher.

"Aleix confirmed what he demonstrated in Valencia, both in terms of performance and harmony with the RS-GP. We have identified a rather precise technical direction to accommodate his riding style and during the winter we will work on bringing a further advanced bike to the first tests at Sepang.

"The weather did not help us and we also had a crash, but we can look forward to the 2017 season optimistically.